US DAP output down 18% in Feb on outages

17 March 2008 16:50  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--US diammonium phosphate (DAP) production was down by nearly a fifth in February against the previous month, as continued plant outages and feedstock shortages impacted volumes, data from The Fertilizer Institute revealed on Monday.

US DAP production reached 585,000 short tons in February, 18% down on January and 7% down on the same month of 2007.

Production problems included a gas leak at Mississippi Phosphates’ Pascagoula phosphate fertilizer facility at the end of February.

The plant had been already running at just under half its 2,000 tonne/day capacity since the end of January.

US producers have also been running at reduced production rates due to a lack of sulphur and sulphuric acid feedstocks.

US DAP closing stocks at the end of February were 463,000 short tons, down 18% on January’s level but up 8% on the same month of 2007.

Producer disappearance, the amount of material put through the pipeline into the domestic and export markets, reached 684,000 short tons, down 2% on January but up 14% on February 2007.

Monammonium phosphate (MAP) production was 441,000 short tons in February, up 7% on January but down 9% on February 2007.

Closing inventories were 362,000 short tons, up 10% on January and 12% on February 2007.

Producer disappearance totalled 407,000 short tons, up 8% on January but down 15% on February 2007.

By: Mike Nash
+44 20 8652 3214

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